52 responses to “My SEC Power Poll ballot, final edition”

I’ve said all along (in a post somewhere, probably here) that ND was not even a top ten team and that at least five or six teams in the SEC would give them similar treatment that Alabama gave them. Now I believe that ND would finish no higher than fourth in either division of the finest conference in the world…and very possibly no higher than fifth. I do think they would beat Auburn in a squeaker. ND is a media-hyped, great Northern Hope sensation that is now thouroghly exposed. Just look what Ole Miss did to Pitt, who took ND to trip overtime and lost on a missed chipshot FG.

I agree with your assessment, they were very similar to Florida, decent defense and a very dysfunctional offense. When you look at how badly the ND schedule performed you have to wonder how that was touted as such an impressive gauntlet. USC, Pitt, Michigam, MSU, Navy, Wake, BC, Purdue,Oklahoma all were exposed. Stanford was the only decent win and it was in OT with a questionable call saving them. And Stanford is a mirror of ND, not much offense and a decent defense.

The polls are just a terrible way to determine how good teams are. You only have to see USC as the pre-season #1 and now ND being left as #4 after what you saw last night. ND and Big 10 bias have always distorted how programs are perceived.

Hate to say it but expect to Urban Legend in the championship game next year. They have practically the whole team back and a weak Big 10 schedule. Plus, they will be the great white hope in the eyes of the media next year to unseat the SEC. They will be preseason #2, maybe #1 in the AP poll. Just watch.

Who would rank ND higher than 7th in the SEC you ask? Why the AP voters of course, who despite all evidence to the contrary have ranked ND ahead of Georgia and Texas A&M in their final poll. What a joke.

To me, Texas AM is the team that seems like it has a chance to make a huge impact in this league. The recruiting grounds that they are in is one that could sustain any program’s success, but to dangle the bait of playing in the SEC to these kids seems like they could catch a few championships themselves in quick order.

Like the Senator, I would recommend withholding judgement on A&M but the stars may be aligning for the Aggies. Texas is on a baffling slide at the very time Sumlin hits College Stattion, and they join the SEC, and Johnny Football takes the nation by storm. In a huge upset, they catch Bama with their pants down on national TV. Recruits cannot help but notice there is a “local” way to catch “SEC fever” without leaving the state. It won’t appeal to all the D1 athletes but there is a large pool of talent to shoot at, they only have to be mildly successful to field a competitive team every season. The hardest season may be behind them, working in a new coach, having the talent to compete, and believing you can compete. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them make it to Atlanta next December.

The only potential fly in A&M’s ointment is this…the whole things hangs on one player. If he goes down, the Aggies can’t possibly replace him, can they? It is at least slightly similar to what Auburn had with Cam Newton. I’m hesitant to say “one man team”, but I will say “one man great team”.
The kid really did deserve the Heisman. He was unbelievable against OK.

No question this year was due to Manziel, but parlaying this fast start opportunity could not have worked better for Sumlin. He will not have to have a Johnny Football every year once he builds the infrastructure, and those solid players exist in Texas every year. He will get a bigger share than A&M has in the past.

I don’t know, Mayor. I guess we will see. If he has another phenomenal year, maybe. But I have a really hard time seeing the draft stock rise that high for an undersized QB with two years of experience. Time will tell.

My final poll…SEC and otherwise…Bama, Georgia, and Texas A&M.
If the Dawgs would have been there, here is my thouhgts. Dawgs D would have shut down NDs passing game. Bama gave away 14 points in that game but they gave up some passes while not rushing the QB. They had a good game plan on the D side. They did nothing different on offense against ND than they did in the SECCG. Dawgs 38 – ND 14.
I’d like to see the votes in both the AP and USA polls.
A lot of dishonest voters. Let’s name some dishonest analyst at ESPN.
All year I heard Lou Holtz rave about how good ND’s D was. Lou Holtz should go to confession and admit he is a bald face liar when he says ESPN pays him to a fair analyst. Holtz is a subsidized cheerleader for ND and is paid by ESPN.
Why in the hell is Urban Meyer from OSU on the set for comments? Just how many cheerleaders does ESPN and Kirk Herbstreet need to support their Big 10 teams who once again got the dog crap kicked out of them once again in a bowl. Take a look at the Dawg’s bowl history against the Big Ten. Last year was the first loss I can remember.
I heard conservative talk show host Laura Ingram comment on the game on Fox & Friends this morning. She said she started watching TV sitcoms after the first quarter. She said ND looked and played like some Washington DC prep school. I would pretty well say that sums it up.
ND could probably beat Auburn and Kentucky in the SEC. Toss up with the Vols. Everybody else would light their over-rated ass up.
Do you think their “all award LB” deserves those? Think not. Here is the award I would give him. I have an award for Teo or whatever the hell the name. It is a good SEC award. The Aunt Jemimiah award. Did the full back not pancake his over-rated ass in the end zone on that 3rd TD. He did not even see the play because his ass was in the freaking dirt.
How many stayed to the end of that game vs. the SECCG? And how many honest souls would not think the Dawgs were better than ND in final polls.

Eh, if Notre Dame had played Georgia’s schedule they probably would have won 8 games. If they got lucky, 10. If they got unlucky, 6. The worst part of the game last night is that Georgia was five yards from being there, beating Notre Dame 38-21 or whatever.

A&M has an extremely favorable schedule next year. Mizzou and Vandy out of the East. Bama at home. With OOC games consisting of power houses such as Sam Houston St, SMU, Rice and New Mexico. They should have the staying power to remain a top 10 team.

Fremeau suggests the SOS gap isn’t that large, both teams played two of the bigger bowl underachievers in D-1 and TAMU had almost a narrow a brush with ‘Bama as ‘Bama did with Georgia. Georgia handled Florida far better than TAMU did.

I’m not suggesting there’s a huge difference between the two, but I think Georgia wins a neutral site game.

what separates GA & AL is about 15 feet in one ball game and about one mile of coaching talent Senator. i hope you were able to rock mark to sleep last night with the thoughts of having to face saban for the next few years.

…well everyones got one but yours stinks a tad more. The truth of the matter is that our staff out-coached bama’s staff in Atlanta. The thing that seperates us from bama is not X’s and O’s but the manner in which their team was built:

Over signing
Medical redshirts
Yanking kids scholly offers at the last minute
Forcing kids who may not contribute out.

In short, it is doing everything to stay at or as close to a healthy and productive 85 schollys as possible. The ethics of doing so be damned. We aren’t and won’t do that. With what 68? Scholarship players and a bunch of walk ons playing special teams we took them to the brink.

I would agree that there is more than 15 feet separating us from bama, but its what’s on the roster not in the coaches that makes the difference. We are slowly but surely addressing that gap and doing so within the letter and spirit of the rules.

I totally agree we out-coached bama in the secc. DL depth and OL talent was the difference. With a good, deep recruiting class UGA might close the gap between the two programs. Maybe if we had retained DE Lott, or Abry Jones wasn’t injured, or we didn’t redshirt Taylor – lots of “ifs”, but we really needed help in the trenches.

If one is inclined to believe that UGA would have treated ND very similarly then it is not a huge leap to conclude that our national championship was quite literally within spitting distance. Don’t think about that too hard.

Saban is never going to be one of my favorite people, but I’ve gain a great deal of respect for him since the SECCG because he has gone out of his way more than once to give the Dawgs the respect they deserve. I wouldn’t be surprised if he put us at #2 in his final poll (if he was part of the coach’s poll this year).

Saban does not do anything miraculous, he just has the total and complete support of his university, a huge and fertile recruiting base, oh and did I mention the total and complete support of his university?

There may be a year win Bama does not win the SEC. But I would not bet against them.

Now you know, that when Gene Chizik blabbered about Awbun being “all in”, the Bama fans stood around and snickered.

Bama is “all in”…nobody else comes close.

Yet, for all that, we came within inches (or feet or whatever) of playing, and beating Notre Dame.

Anybody who thinks Mark Richt is not a great football coach needs a pre-frontal lobotomy.